Civil and Human Rights

United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut understands the power of the purse. That's why its Women's Leadership Council, for the fourth year in a row, is hosting its "Power of the Purse " luncheon. The June 10 luncheon, at the Connecticut Convention Center, is expected to attract about 1,500 women and men. The fundraiser always features hundreds of donated designer pursues, all part of a stylish silent auction, as well as a dynamic speaker. This year there are two — human rights activists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, a husband-and-wife team. The Pulitzer Prize-winning couple, who have three children, are authors of the New York Times best-seller...

It was in May 2014, Stuart Milk noted, when he last came to Orlando, as the guest speaker at the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast.
He was back in Orlando on May 11 for the 2015 breakfast, presented by The Center, the gay and lesbian community center in...

TAMPA — Though plans to deposit the dearly departed in the earth near Tampa are dead, cadaver researchers continue to push to find a new site where scientists can study the business of human decomposition in Florida's subtropical climate and maybe solve...

Always something to learn about you good people when we hold our "Name a Kentucky Derby race horse" competition. For example, the approximately 250 entrants (and more than 500 names) produced evidence of who your are thinking about now — and who...

Always something to learn about you good people when we hold our "Name a Kentucky Derby race horse" competition. For example, the approximately 250 entrants (and more than 500 names) produced evidence of who your are thinking about now — and who...

Drone strikes, by their nature, are bound to kill innocent civilians. It is all too easy to ignore this ugly fact — and the dubious morality of the whole enterprise — until the unfortunate victims happen to be Westerners.
Only then does...

These are pivotal times for transgender Americans, as they gain in visibility yet remain buffeted by bias and misunderstanding.
Five things to know about this diverse community and the challenges it faces:
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THE BASICS
According to demographer...

High school students seeking a meaningful experience over the summer may wish to look into volunteering abroad. Programs are available that enable students to travel to developing communities and making a positive impact there through volunteer efforts....

Could it be the Florida Legislature has finally had enough of the license-plate overkill on state roads? Let's hope so.
Florida currently issues 123 different specialty plates, with more likely on the way. Enough already. More than enough, actually.
...

In the latest skirmish between advocates of gay rights and religious liberty, two preschool teachers in Orange County contend they were fired from a church-run day care center because they are gay.
Jaclyn Pfeiffer and Kelly Bardier say they were...

Oct. 24, 2002: The Sentinel published an op-ed I wrote in favor of nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation alongside an opposing column by Alan Chambers, then of Exodus International, the world's largest evangelical...

"Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere."
These famous words of President Franklin Roosevelt's 1940s speech to Congress ring through the Presidents Hall of Fame museum, 123 U.S. Highway 27, a block or so away from the Florida...

This March has seen two related but very different events — one a court ruling supporting the deportation of a man found complicit in many murders; the other an announcement of a move to make an official saint of a murder victim.
The victim is Bishop...

Earlier this week the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted 5-0 to pass Senate Bill 664, a bill that would require, in capital-case penalty-phase proceedings, that a jury vote unanimously, rather than by a simple majority, to recommend sentences...

The Baptist college regarded as the incubator for the civil rights movement has drawn the ire of a group of black Baptist pastors who oppose a lesbian minister invited to speak next week.
American Baptist College in Nashville was the training ground...

Twenty years ago, the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing marked a significant turning point for gender equality, as 189 governments signed a progressive blueprint for advancing women's rights. Since then, we've seen a number of global and local...

Not-new Netanyahu
When Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation from House Republicans to address Congress on Iran, some expected the Israeli prime minister to offer damning new details about the nuclear agreement that appears to be taking shape. In...

Long may Obama 'reign'
Oppressing, torturing, quashing free speech and suppressing religious and human rights — these are the everyday actions of your modern political dictator.
Edgar B. Wycoff, in his Tuesday My Word ("In his own mind, Obama's...